The Nationals traded for center fielder Denard Span to be their leadoff man for 2013. This will give right fielder Jayson Werth a chance to move down in the lineup. Although the sample sizes are different because Span was the leadoff man three times more than Werth, it is interesting to see how close the numbers are for two very different styles. Obviously, the power numbers favor Werth a bit, but Span did a great job of making contact and keeping his on-base percentage at a good level. ...

The Orioles won't be introducing the newest addition to their pitching staff today. Jair Jurrjens is completing his physical, and the club hopes to make his signing official early next week. It's possible that an announcement will come Monday. Don't expect anything from the Orioles on Super Bowl Sunday besides tweets from Adam Jones, who arrived in New Orleans earlier today. Jurrjens agreed to a one-year, $1.5 million deal last week that includes a possible $2.5 million in incentives....

In 2012, the Nationals watched from their own division as the Atlanta Braves put together a final inning formula for shutting down opponents. With Eric O'Flaherty, Jonny Venters and Craig Kimbrel, the Braves had the seventh, eighth and ninth innings effectively extinguished for opposing hitters. And with the Braves' starting staff needing only to get through the sixth frame, the game was shortened to those 18 outs to start the game. Venters, with his sinkerball, pitched 45 of his 53 1/3...

I've heard from a few people in the organization that the Orioles aren't likely to sign left-hander Arthur Rhodes or infielder Fernando Tatis to minor league contracts. Rhodes threw for the Orioles this week and Tatis worked out for them in the Dominican Republic, as The Sun reported, but a reunion doesn't appear to be in the cards. Rhodes still lives in the area - I saw him in Ocean City last summer and he attended FanFest in January - but the Orioles really don't need another...

Welcome to the second edition of 10 questions for O's fans. This weekend, I'll throw out 10 more questions and topics and look forward to your responses and answers. Respond to one, two, three, six or all 10. It might help to number your answers to make it easier to follow the comments. Click here to read again the first 10 questions you were asked to respond to. Now on with 10 more questions. 1: If Jason Hammel, Wei-Yin Chen, Miguel Gonzalez and Chris Tillman do take the first four...

Nick Johnson finally hung up the spikes this week, according to MLBTradeRumors.com. Only 34, Johnson will be remembered as the backbone of the first Nationals team in 2005, and to those of us who wore his name proudly on the back of our first Nationals jerseys, he was the heart and soul of that team. The article highlights Johnson's ability to get on base, his "keen eye at the plate" that helped him achieve a "15.7% walk rate" that the article notes is "the 29th-highest mark of any...

If you attended this year's NatsFest, you were able to hear the latest offseason news and see your favorite Nationals players. Take a look at our albums here. At the event, we found out that Danny Espinosa played with a torn rotator cuff last season and that Bryce Harper declined an invitation to play for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic. Also, at NatsFest, Jayson Werth announced that he thinks the Nats are "the best team in baseball." Similarly, Ian Desmond said last week that he...

One of the biggest surprises of spring training 2012 occurred when manager Buck Showalter named Jake Arrieta his opening day starter. It became more probable as we inched closer to the day that the Orioles broke camp, but I don't think anyone saw it coming when pitchers and catchers reported in February. You probably know the rest of the story. Arrieta blanked the Minnesota Twins on two hits over seven innings at Camden Yards, justifying Showalter's faith in him, but the right-hander went...

Did you know that the Orioles used 26 pitchers last season? Yes, Chris Davis counts. As the O's look toward spring training, they have many pitchers to evaluate, including their newest acquisition, Jair Jurrjens. The former Braves hurler is expected to be officially introduced next week. The Birds signed 31-year-old Chris Dickerson to a minor-league deal, which includes an invitation to spring training, on Tuesday. Rob Delaney, Manny Delcarmen and Chris Pettit, all of whom have major league...

Pitching coach Rick Adair called into the "Hot Stove Baseball" show on WBAL Radio today, and he was asked about Japanese left-hander Tsuyoshi Wada, who underwent ligament-reconstructive surgery on his elbow last May and still hasn't appeared in a game with the Orioles. Manager Buck Showalter told reporters during the Winter Meetings that Wada was ahead of schedule in his recovery. This is true, but Wada doesn't figure to be ready to break camp with the team on opening day. "He's...